A quietly affecting song from new (to me) band The New Amsterdams, who combine a hint of a country aesthetic to more low-key, indie singer-songwriter fare. This song relies on the textured voice of the vocalist and the subtleties of the music behind it.

One of my favourite female singers joins The Perishers on my favourite of their songs, from McLachlan's newest B-Sides compilation. She's got some real gems on this new one, including an old favourite, her musical rendition of "The Prayer of St. Francis".

Backed by a mournful horn and funeral beat, this low-key song from Throw Me the Statue is a recent discovery that works quite nicely. It stays grounded by the darker beats and the straightforward vocals, whose singer sounds like a dozen indie singers and yet has a tone very much of his own. That man is Scott Reitherman, who it turns out is responsible for all the instrumentation as well; quite surprising, and definitely impressive.

This song should be familiar to about everybody, as the original Kansas song is very well-known. In fact, devout readers of this blog should find more than the song familiar, but the vocalist - Daughter Darling is, in fact, the former band of tBoS favourite Natalie Walker. The group split mid-second album, and the pieces became Nat's debut, Urban Angel. One of my favourite covers, I must say, with the trip hop element alongside the gorgeous strings and Walker's amazing voice.

Small but excellent group for this one, I'd say. Give them all a listen!

Disclaimer

NOTE: All music provided is purely for preview purposes, and we urge you to download responsibly and buy albums from the artists you like. This project is purely our way of helping spread the word about our favourite artists and, in our small way, help them out the best we can. Hurting their business is the exact opposite of our intentions here.

If an artist has concerns about anything being made available on this blog, feel free to contact us at thebringerofsong@hotmail.com and we'll be happy to take it down.

Contributors

About Us

This blog showcases the musical tastes of...

Alden (The Alden): A 17-year-old Canadian male who initiated the blog, Alden loves music. A lot. Many of his favourite singers and bands use instruments like the piano and violin over the common guitar-based band template, and values vocals and lyrics over instrumentation. Practically worships Andrew Bird.

Marelly (Wendy77): Alden's cousin, who keeps him in line and polices his tastes to make sure he doesn't embarrass himself in the indie hipster scene. Will have her own blurb soon, she promises.

PAST BLOGGERS

Jordan (CitizenofBalance): Joined Alden at tBoS in early January 2008, Jordan's interests cover a very different spectrum to his blogging partner. Prefers to listen to such genres as heavy and progressive metal, doom, psychedelic and underground Hip-Hop. Was last seen on a quest into the heart of psytrance. Exited February 2008.